Bomb squad rush to UK city street as residents evacuated from homes | UK | News
Street residents in England were evacuated from their homes today after bomb disposal teams and police descended on the neighborhood. Many residents of a residential street in Liverpool said their “hearts stopped” as the explosion was carried out by emergency services.
Douglas Road in Anfield was closed after police and army teams attended the area after forensic officers discovered a suspicious substance at a property linked to an ongoing case. According to the Liverpool Echo, officers have been examining the house for several weeks as part of an investigation into human remains found at a flat in St Helens.
Bomb disposal experts were earlier at the scene in full protective gear and police later confirmed a “white powder” was seized during their investigation.
At around 16:30, a convoy of three Matrix police vehicles and an explosive ordnance disposal truck quickly left the scene. Merseyside Police said the substance was being transported for a controlled explosion.
An open area approximately six miles away near Otterspool Promenade was used for the controlled explosion. A man who walks the promenade every day said a “large police presence” arrived at around 4.30pm and politely asked people to “vacate the area”.
The man, from Grassendale, said a police officer told him there would be a “very, very loud explosion.” He said a convoy with blue lights arrived around 5 p.m. The man claimed he was walking when he heard an explosion so loud that people nearby said their “hearts would stop”.
Merseyside Police had previously attended Douglas Road at around 2.30pm. Police forensic teams had been at the house for more than three weeks as part of a wider investigation following the discovery of human remains at a flat in Gerards Court, St Helens, on January 8. A police spokesman told the ECHO today the investigations were linked.
Police teams evacuated nearly 20 properties. A spokesman said: “The road was temporarily closed and some houses adjacent to the property were evacuated as a precaution while the substance was removed from the property.”
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service was also at the scene. A spokesperson confirmed: “[We] He attended an incident on Douglas Road in Liverpool earlier today to assist Merseyside Police. “A fire engine was at the scene from 15.20 and left the scene at 16.41.”
Detective Inspector Dave Jones previously said: “This is a complex investigation and so we are carrying out several stages of investigation… It is vital that a thorough forensic investigation is carried out at Douglas Street to determine whether this is relevant to the investigation and due to the maintenance of the property this is taking longer than usual.”
